On June 22, the Rwandan government destroyed 1,500
firearms, in addition to the 6,000 that were destroyed last year.
According to the Prime Minister, Bernard Makuza, arms are a primary cause
of conflict and retard the development process. The government is also
continuing to harmonize their national legislation with the 2001 Programme of
Action from the United Nations Conference on the Illicit Commerce of Small
Arms.

There is an "urgent need" to increase security before
the July 30 national elections. An important part of security is militia
disarmament, so the government set a June 30 deadline for this action.
Before June 30, 1,100 militiamen had already disarmed, so many people that
the government had to increase capacity at disarmament sites. Rebels were
hoping to take advantage of an initiative that allowed them exchange their
guns for cash as the deadline was extended to July 15. However, the
government must confront significant problems with disarmament. Many
militia members do not want to disarm because they can make a better
living than those who disarmed. At this point, nearly 16,000 members have
already surrendered their weapons, but almost 2,000 continue to attack
villages.

The Ivory Coast must be reunified before national
elections can occur. However, reunification is not possible without rebel
disarmament, which is not even close to starting. Negotiations between the
government and the rebels broke down multiple times because they two sides
cannot come to an agreement. William Soro, the leader of the main rebel
group, the New Forces, and the Ivorian president, Laurent Gbagbo, agreed
to reset the disarmament deadline for July 30. Last week, Kofi Annan
announced that there will be a conference in September to decide whether
or not elections can happen in October as planned.

The National Liberation Forces (the primary rebel
group) and the Burundian government have not yet signed a peace treaty
even though the deadline was July 1. Negotiations broke down after the
government declared that the army would punish the rebels if they do not
voluntarily disarm and sign a peace accord. Disarmament is an important
issue for the FNL because more than 80 % of the ethnic violence victims in
Burundi were victims of government security forces.

Even though ECOWAS member states have already agreed
on restrictions on the commerce of small arms, it has not been implemented
because the individual governments have not yet ratified the convention.
The implementation of the convention will limit the sovereignty of each
state. However, ECOWAS just created a new commission, of which the
convention on the importation and commerce of small arms is a part.

The United Nations conference on the
illegal trafficking of small arms was a failure. Certain countries such as
Iran, Cuba, and the United States refused to increase restrictions on the
sale and control of arms and reveal the extent of small arms commerce
within their national boundaries.

The Belgian Foreign Affairs Minister,
Karel De Gucht, criticized the international community for failing to
increase the regulation of small arms, a problem that directly affects
people living in conflict zones. Belgium favors an international treaty
with restrictive laws governing the transfer, marking, and tracing of
small arms.

The problem of arms trafficking in Madagascar must be
addressed before it becomes a major problem since the proliferation of
small arms is responsible for violence. The United Nations must pass
international legislation that restricts the trade, production and
ownership of small arms.